Rules of Engagement

Congratulations, Uncle Trev and Aunty Roni ;-)

We'll be comin' 'round the mountain...

Well, another week and another Happy Day Chart completed. this week's treat was to take a trip up a "purple hill". Miss A often sees mountains in the distance (hence, they appear to be purple) and has been begging us to go up there one day. And today was the day.

So, amidst bawling and wails from me ("Noooo! you're going too fast! Ahhhh! We're all going to die!" Apparently I was the only one in the car with an aversion to driving close to a steep slope) we finally made it to the top, took a short walk, observed the scenery and came down again.

I have told L in no uncertain terms that I will never go up that mountain again.

Here is a picture of the view from the top:

Fire Danger

L and his nephew went to some more fires during the week, about an hour north of us. Below we chronicle their valiant efforts to control the fire they went to on Tuesday. As you can see, it didn't all go to plan this time...















Back-burning the fire break
















Producing a little smoke - that made it all the way to town!
















Back-burn going wrong ............
















and getting worse ................
















The fire jumped the break behind us ........

















The end result of the fire getting a bit close, there
was smoke coming out of the engine bay as well
















This time it went right.
















Refilling with water again and again and again .......
















But yet again it jumped the breaks .......

Eating Out

For lunch today we were invited over to a friend's home. We had a great lunch and a fun (beginning to the) afternoon. The kids had a great time bouncing on the trampoline.



Well, everyone except Master B?











Thanks, Dobies for a great lunch and afternoon!

Producing Produce

For the last few months L has been busy looking after some new babies... baby pumpkins and watermelons that is. They are just two of the things that are growing around the place these days, and they are lookin' mighty fine.








































...swell

Beach Babe

Off to the beach we went this afternoon. We are making progress with both children as far as getting used to the moving water at the beach, as long as we are only in the basin! While Miss A and I were off looking at rocks and snails, L was taking pics with his awesome new lens, and looking after Master B. I was impressed when Miss A and I returned to find Master B almost asleep in the sand...

...All tuckered out

Stepping Out

Master B is walking very well these days, in fact it is his preferred mode of transportation. It didn't take him very long to try running, either, his major problem with that is that his little legs don't move fast enough and he ends up falling over, it's quite cute. He is also so eager to walk everywhere that he was doing it quite well this evening even while wearing his blanket sleeper!

Making Tracks

A couple of weeks ago, I took the kids to town for a train ride, their first ever train ride, on an old cane train locomotive that gives rides at the botanical gardens. It was another of Miss A's rewards, and both children seemed to enjoy the experience immensely.





This photo is of the locomotive.








And









This photo is of Miss A in front of our carriage.

Playing With Fire

In the wee small hours of Saturday morning, L and other members of the rural fire brigade left for Geata. The dry, hot weather has sparked fires in the region, many of which are in the Mt. Perry area. During the quieter moments, L snapped a few shots, and arrived home at about 11:30 Saturday night, very tired. Keep an eye out in the local paper for some photos he sent in of the Geata fires. Here are just a few of the 59 photos he took. Apparently he got a little "shutter happy" :D .

Steps to Greatness...

Well, it's been a while coming, but Master B is finally taking some regular steps on his own, albeit only when bribery is involved. In the form of a jelly cup. It's quite comical to watch really, he takes enourmous steps with his right foot, and tiny steps with his left foot. The result? Side-stepping, very, v-e-r-y slow side-stepping. He's still a ways from what one would really call "walking" but awkward side-stepping is close enough :D .